# Ben Collett

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**Benjamin Collett** (born 11 September 1984) is an English former [footballer](/source/Association_football) who played as a [central midfielder](/source/Midfielder) for [Manchester United](/source/Manchester_United_F.C.), [New Zealand Knights](/source/New_Zealand_Knights) and [AGOVV Apeldoorn](/source/AGOVV_Apeldoorn). Collett joined AGOVV from now-defunct [A-League](/source/A-League) club the [New Zealand Knights](/source/New_Zealand_Knights) in 2006 after being released from [Manchester United](/source/Manchester_United_F.C.).

## Career

Born in [Bury, Greater Manchester](/source/Bury,_Greater_Manchester), Collett began his football career with [Manchester United](/source/Manchester_United_F.C.), signing a trainee contract with the club in July 2001. He became a regular in the club's Under-17 side, progressing to the Under-19 team in 2002. For his performances during the 2002–03 season, Collett received the [Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award](/source/Manchester_United_F.C._Reserves_and_Academy#Players_of_the_Year). The season culminated with triumph over [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough_F.C.) in the [FA Youth Cup](/source/FA_Youth_Cup), in which Collett scored a goal in the first leg of the final at the [Riverside Stadium](/source/Riverside_Stadium).

A week after the team's FA Youth Cup triumph, Collett was selected for a reserve team game against Middlesbrough on 1 May 2003. However, following a tackle by Middlesbrough's [Gary Smith](/source/Gary_Smith_(footballer_born_1984)), his leg was broken in two places and he was replaced by [Kieran Richardson](/source/Kieran_Richardson). The injury eventually forced Collett's retirement from football, after spells with the [New Zealand Knights](/source/New_Zealand_Knights) and [AGOVV Apeldoorn](/source/AGOVV_Apeldoorn). In May 2008, he began legal proceedings against Smith and Middlesbrough, with his solicitors (Jan Levinson and Andrew Vickerstaff) and Richard Hartley QC and Jonathan Boyle as barristers. Levinson had previously prosecuted on behalf of [Gordon Watson](/source/Gordon_Watson_(footballer,_born_1971)) in the first £1 million football injury compensation claim.[1]

The case was won in August 2008, and Collett was awarded an initial sum of £4.3 million in compensation, with the total "unlikely to be less than [£](/source/Pound_sterling)4.5 million".[2] [Alex Ferguson](/source/Alex_Ferguson), [Brian McClair](/source/Brian_McClair), [Howard Wilkinson](/source/Howard_Wilkinson) and [Gary Neville](/source/Gary_Neville) attended the hearing, where they claimed that Collett was an "A-Class" footballer and had every chance of being a first team regular at Manchester United and a household name.[3]

## Honours

**Individual**

- [Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year](/source/Manchester_United_F.C._Reserves_and_Academy#Players_of_the_Year): [2002–03](/source/2002%E2%80%9303_Manchester_United_F.C._season)[4]

## References

1. [Injured star in pay-out battle](http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1051204_injured_star_in_payout_battle), Manchester Evening News, 26 May 2008

1. ["Man Utd player wins £4.5m payout"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7553678.stm). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News). 11 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-11.

1. ["Footballer awaits damages claim over career-ending Boro tackle"](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/display.var.2380808.0.footballer_awaits_damages_claim_over_careerending_boro_tackle.php). The Northern Echo. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-05.

1. Bostock, Adam (4 May 2010). ["Award joy for Keane"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131105164425/http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2010/May/Award-joy-for-Keane.aspx). Manchester United F.C. Archived from [the original](http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2010/May/Award-joy-for-Keane.aspx) on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

## External links

- [The £4.3million football career that never was](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-16343million-football-career-that-never-was-891508.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ben Collett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Collett) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Collett?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.